Jeremie Frimpong (L) of Bayer 04 Leverkusen vies with Maximilian Mittelstaedt of VfB Stuttgart during the first division of Bundesliga match between Bayer 04 Leverkusen and VfB Stuttgart in Leverkusen, Germany, April 27, 2024. (Photo by Ulrich Hufnagel/Xinhua)
BERLIN, April 27 (Xinhua) -- Bayer Leverkusen left it late once again and secured a 2-2 draw with Stuttgart thanks to Robert Andrich's equalizer in the dying minutes to extend the record unbeaten run to 46 games at the 31st round on Saturday.
Stuttgart dominated the early stages and created the first promising opportunity with 14 minutes gone when Serhou Guirassy headed Leonidas Stergiou's pinpoint cross just wide.
Even though Stuttgart controlled possession, the best chance of the first half fell to newly crowned Bundesliga champions as Stuttgart goalkeeper Alexander Nubel had to palm away Alejandro Grimaldo's dangerous shot before Patrik Schick pulled the subsequent rebound over the target at the half-hour mark.
However, Leverkusen caught a fairy-tale start into the second half as Chris Fuhrich tapped home a rebound from very close range with 47 minutes played.
Leverkusen responded well but it was the visitors from Black Forest, who doubled the advantage in the 57th minute when Enzo Millot's good build-up work allowed Deniz Undav to drill the ball from the edge of the box into top left corner.
Stuttgart should have tripled the lead moments later but for all that Guirassy missed the target with all time and space.
Leverkusen, known for its comeback qualities this season, punished Stuttgart's wastefulness as Amine Adli halved the deficit thanks to Grimaldo's assist in the 62nd minute.
The visitors remained unimpressed and pushed forward but Leverkusen custodian Lukas Hradecky drove Guirassy to desperation with two crucial saves in the closing stages.
Leverkusen again had the last laugh and clinched a late draw after Andrich latched onto the last cross of the match in the dying seconds of the injury time.
"We wanted to score by hook or by crook. We believed in it until the end and played offensively minded. The team simply didn't want to lose," said Andrich.
At the other games, runner up Bayern Munich overpowered Eintracht Frankfurt 2-0 by courtesy on Harry Kane's brace.
Leipzig made a big step towards a top four finish after bouncing back against Dortmund to secure a 4-1 victory.
Ten-men Freiburg lost 2-1 to Wolfsburg and Werder Bremen cruised 3-0 past Augsburg.
Already on Friday, relegation threatened Bochum reaped vital points after beating Hoffenheim 3-0. ■
Odilon Kossounou (L) of Bayer 04 Leverkusen vies with Chris Fuehrich of VfB Stuttgart during the first division of Bundesliga match between Bayer 04 Leverkusen and VfB Stuttgart in Leverkusen, Germany, April 27, 2024. (Photo by Ulrich Hufnagel/Xinhua)
Victor Boniface (R) of Bayer 04 Leverkusen vies with Anthony Rouault of VfB Stuttgart during the first division of Bundesliga match between Bayer 04 Leverkusen and VfB Stuttgart in Leverkusen, Germany, April 27, 2024. (Photo by Ulrich Hufnagel/Xinhua)
Florian Wirtz (L) of Bayer 04 Leverkusen vies with Mahmoud Dahoud of VfB Stuttgart during the first division of Bundesliga match between Bayer 04 Leverkusen and VfB Stuttgart in Leverkusen, Germany, April 27, 2024. (Photo by Ulrich Hufnagel/Xinhua)
Jonas Hofmann (L) of Bayer 04 Leverkusen vies with Waldemar Anton of VfB Stuttgart during the first division of Bundesliga match between Bayer 04 Leverkusen and VfB Stuttgart in Leverkusen, Germany, April 27, 2024. (Photo by Ulrich Hufnagel/Xinhua)
Chris Fuehrich (1st R) of VfB Stuttgart celebrates scoring with his teammates during the first division of Bundesliga match between Bayer 04 Leverkusen and VfB Stuttgart in Leverkusen, Germany, April 27, 2024. (Photo by Ulrich Hufnagel/Xinhua)
Xabi Alonso, head coach of Bayer 04 Leverkusen, instructs during the first division of Bundesliga match between Bayer 04 Leverkusen and VfB Stuttgart in Leverkusen, Germany, April 27, 2024. (Photo by Ulrich Hufnagel/Xinhua)
Sebastian Hoeness, head coach of VfB Stuttgart, instructs during the first division of Bundesliga match between Bayer 04 Leverkusen and VfB Stuttgart in Leverkusen, Germany, April 27, 2024. (Photo by Ulrich Hufnagel/Xinhua)
Harry Kane (1st R) of Bayern Munich shoots during the German first division Bundesliga football match between Bayern Munich and Eintracht Frankfurt in Munich, Germany, April 27, 2024. (Photo by Philippe Ruiz/Xinhua)
Konrad Laimer (C) of Bayern Munich vies with Mario Goetze (L) and Tuta of Frankfurt during the German first division Bundesliga football match between Bayern Munich and Eintracht Frankfurt in Munich, Germany, April 27, 2024. (Photo by Philippe Ruiz/Xinhua)
Thomas Mueller (front L) of Bayern Munich breaks through during the German first division Bundesliga football match between Bayern Munich and Eintracht Frankfurt in Munich, Germany, April 27, 2024. (Photo by Philippe Ruiz/Xinhua)
Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting (L) of Bayern Munich shoots during the German first division Bundesliga football match between Bayern Munich and Eintracht Frankfurt in Munich, Germany, April 27, 2024. (Photo by Philippe Ruiz/Xinhua)
Manuel Neuer, goalkeeper of Bayern Munich, fails to save the ball from Hugo Ekitike of Frankfurt during the German first division Bundesliga football match between Bayern Munich and Eintracht Frankfurt in Munich, Germany, April 27, 2024. (Photo by Philippe Ruiz/Xinhua)
Matthijs de Ligt (top R) of Bayern Munich vies with Junior Dina Ebimbe of Frankfurt during the German first division Bundesliga football match between Bayern Munich and Eintracht Frankfurt in Munich, Germany, April 27, 2024. (Photo by Philippe Ruiz/Xinhua)
